By River Mitchell
@rivermitchell27
The transition from January into February signals lots of different things for many different people. One month closer to escaping the cold New England winter, Valentine’s Day, the Super Bowl and plenty more things to come. For the Springfield College men’s volleyball team, the new month brings a tradition that Springfield College has had since the early ‘90s: The International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic.
The Morgan Classic is a yearly tournament at Springfield College where four teams from the Northeast compete. This year, the Pride were joined by Vassar, Lasell, and Endicott College.
On day one, each team went against an opponent in hopes of making it to the championship game. Springfield beat Vassar on day one, then were slated to take on Lasell on day two, as Lasell beat Endicott in three sets. Vassar and Endicott matched up in a consolation game on day two, with Springfield beating Lasell in the championship game to win the tournament for the eighth straight year.
“Would’ve been nice to do it in three but we decided to do it the hard way,” joked setter Dylan Mulvaney. “It was a great feeling. Not necessarily about the win but more about [playing] our level of volleyball that we wanted to be at. We were able to do it in front of a really supportive, nice home crowd.”
“It’s a difference maker,” said Pride head coach Charlie Sullivan. “It’s really amazing. It helps us play really well.”
The atmosphere in Blake Arena would be hard to replicate in any other gym that size, with the large crowd on hand getting fired up after every kill, block, ace and everything else that went in the Pride’s favor.
“It’s very rare that you play in these environments with this many people here supporting you,” said opposite hitter Sam Levinson. “Really grateful and just super excited to play in these games.”
Levinson and Mulvaney both made a huge impact for the Pride across the two games they played. Mulvaney led the team in both games in assists with 47 against Vassar and 26 against Lasell. Levinson, who has quickly emerged as a big time offensive weapon for the Pride, dropped 19 points on Vassar in game one alongside eight in game two versus Lasell, tying the team lead in the game next to Ethan Walters.
“Sammy’s been awesome,” Mulvaney said. “I really had no idea what to expect from Sam at all and he impressed [us]. He’s very mature the way he approaches the game, he does really smart swings when his feet aren’t necessarily at the ball. He’s been able to step up really well and beyond that from the service line as a blocker. I can’t wait to see where his trajectory takes him.”
In the games against Vassar, the win did not come as easy as some of the other games played this year. They found themselves up 2-0, and looking to sweep Vassar out of town, the Brewers rallied back to win sets three and four. Vassar produced a high hitting percentage in both sets, finally able to get around Springfield’s block.. The Pride found themselves in the sets until the very end, but weren’t able to close out the victory either time.
“Vassar stepped up their game big time,” Mulvaney said. “They played really well all five sets but in three and four they attacked really smartly. Their hitters were kind of heating up a little bit so we had to make some adjustments. I think it started in learning in sets three and four, and understanding that their team is going to make adjustments. That’s something that coach Sullivan did a really good job about in time outs. He talked about what we’re going to have to do differently and the things that we can do to limit that success.”
The finale on Saturday night against Lasell featured a Pride win due to an overall team effort that saw a good portion of players make big impacts on the game. The Pride had 12 aces in the match with middle blocker Chris Rouleau delivering five of them. Mulvaney also led the team in digs with 11 and Brennan Cutter and Evan Costley both had six kills each. This would not only seal a tournament victory for the Pride, but also move them up to 7-1 on the season, winning their last seven in a row.
“It’s really gratifying,” Levinson said. “Our team obviously hosts this tournament every year, and it’s kind of an unwritten thing that you gotta win it if you host it. We’re really happy.”
On top of the success the team has seen this season, the team also holds a super close bond off the court. The Pride have proven to be a well oiled machine, putting the team’s success over their own personal stats and accolades.
“[We feel] super in sync,” Levinson said. “We have a really close bond as a team and that helps on the court.”
“Everyone’s invested in playing for the guy next to them and really playing for the team,” Mulvaney said. “[It’s] not [about] getting that dig for yourself, but getting the dig so the guy has a chance to score. That’s what it’s really about.”
The Pride head down to New York University, kicking off a two-week road trip, also hitting Endicott and New Paltz. The Pride will play their next game in Blake Arena on Feb. 17 as a part of the Springfield Tri Match, where they will play Rivier and St. Josephs.